How to change a tyre – an easy guide

Need a refresher on how to change a tyre? Whether you’ve run over something sharp, put off buying new tyres for too long or just had plain bad luck, you’re bound to have experience the inconvenience of a flat tyre at least once in your life. And chances are it’ll happen a lot more than that!

Here are some simple steps on how to change a tyre to make sure you know what to do when the time comes. Tools of the trade

What you should have in your car in case things get flat.

A brace to use when loosening and tightening up the lug nuts of the tyres. Make sure it matches the sizing of the nuts!

A jack to prop the car up. Ensure the jack you have fits your car and has all the proper attachments. If your car didn’t come with one, a portable emergency jack does the trick.

Lastly but importantly, a spare tyre!

The how to bit

Check you and your car are in a safe place. This means getting your car to solid ground and out of the traffic. Make sure your car isn’t going to go anywhere by putting on the handbrake and putting the vehicle in park or in gear. Another necessity is alerting other drivers that you’re stationary by flicking on the hazard lights and safety triangle.

Put a chock behind the wheel diagonally across from the flat tyre to prevent the car from rolling.

Find the jacking point of your car – it is different on all models, so bear in mind if you’re in an unfamiliar car it may be necessary to go through the owner’s manual. In general, the jack needs to go underneath a solid part of the car’s frame. Some cars even have labeled notches to show you where.

Loosen the nuts slightly before jacking. You’re going to have a hard time if you don’t do this: think about how hard it would be trying to loosen the nuts while the tyre spins around.

Proceed to jack the car up off the ground. Remember that the new tyre is going to be fully inflated, so it’s necessary to leave one or two inches of space underneath the flat one.

A quick safety tipNever sit with your legs underneath the car, or have your hands where they could potentially get crushed should the car fall off the jack.

Fully remove the nuts of the wheel and then take off the tyre, replacing it quickly with the new one. Place the flat one underneath the car, just as an extra precaution if the jack falls.

Don’t tighten the nuts with the brace just yet! Make sure the wheel is fitted correctly on the hub then put all the nuts up and tighten them by hand, and then loosely with the brace.

Lower the car until the wheel has some weight on it. Now you can tighten the nuts up properly! When doing this don’t go around in a circle; use a star pattern instead. Once the wheel is firmly on, lower the car the rest of the way until the jack doesn’t touch the frame and pull the jack away from the car.For a visual demonstration of how to change a tyre, check out this handy video by Drive.com

And there you have it. Your car should be good to go. Now it’s time to hit the open road and get back on your way.

If you find yourself in a sticky situation on the roadside, call Marshall Batteries for roadside assistance, a jump start, a new battery or even a fuel top up! 1300 627 742